Seal rescue groups call closure of rehab facility 'devastating'

Thursday

May 29, 2014 at 2:00 AM

BIDDEFORD, Maine — Rescuing seals and other marine animals will be harder now that the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation and Conservation program has closed, local rescue organizations said this week, but it will not stop them from trying.

Jennifer Feals

BIDDEFORD, Maine — Rescuing seals and other marine animals will be harder now that the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation and Conservation program has closed, local rescue organizations said this week, but it will not stop them from trying.

"The rescue work will still be done," said Wendy Lull, president of the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, N.H. "It just makes it harder."

Since the start of this year, the Seacoast Science Center has led New Hampshire's marine mammal rescue effort through authorization from the National Marine Fisheries Service. The center's Marine Mammal Rescue Team responds to stranded, injured and diseased seals and other mammals along the New Hampshire coast in partnership with the New England Aquarium and MARC.

Prior to that, Lull said Seacoast Science Center staff volunteered as members of a local response network through the New England Aquarium.

The closing of the MARC program was announced last week on the UNE Web site along with news of new undergraduate marine sciences programs, including a degree in ocean studies and marine affairs. The program was known for its regular seal releases, which attract dozens of community members. It routinely took in seals and other marine mammals from throughout New England, and especially those found on Maine and New Hampshire beaches.

"We've been doing marine rehabilitation since 2001 and we are, in fact, very proud of what we've accomplished as a group," said Ed Bilsky, vice president for research and scholarship. "We've rehabilitated over 1,000 seals and released them back into the wild. The seal populations that were endangered are no longer endangered. On the other hand, we need to remember we are a university and we need to educate students and give them the skill paths they need."

Bilsky said there are two full-time staff members and several volunteers, including students, who will be affected by the change.

Lynda Doughty, executive director of Marine Mammals of Maine, said she received a press release about the MARC facility's closing just before the traditionally busy Memorial Day weekend. The news was "devastating," she said.

"We do this because we want to try to help animals, but it makes our jobs even harder when there's no place for them to go," Doughty said.

She said this is the busiest and most critical time of year for marine mammal rescues, as seal pups tend to be abandoned by their mothers.

"We were slammed this weekend with animals," Doughty said, adding the organization responded to assist with 24 seal pups in the past two weeks. "Right now, we're trying to coordinate a transport to Mystic Aquarium in order for a couple animals to go. We really have to prioritize which animals go because there's such limited capacity for the volume we see in the next two months."

The Seacoast Science Center and Marine Mammals of Maine both have hotlines people can call to report a mammal they believe may be in need. When they get a call, the organizations deploy responders. Sometimes the animal is healthy, but other times they need care and rehabilitation. In that case, the animals would often be transported to MARC.

The nearest rehabilitation facilities are now the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay, Mass., and Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn.

"They will have to receive these extra seals," Bilsky said.

But space there is limited, local rescue organizations said, and the longer trip will be difficult for the animals. Lull and Doughty said longer trips to Connecticut will require them to extend the length of time they monitor animals.

"We were very excited when we first got into this," Lull said. "UNE has a beautiful facility, good staff, they are really helpful, and logistically, it's a lot easier for us to transfer animals to Biddeford."

She added the impact of the closing is twofold.

"There's the logistics and expense of taking animals further to rehab — it adds a 200-mile round trip for us — and then there's a time factor," Lull said. "The time it takes to transport the animal takes a responder out of the field, ties up a response vehicle longer. But it also changes the decision that you're going to make about the fate of that animal."

Lull said her team will meet with its consulting veterinarian and seek guidance from National Marine Fisheries to determine what will be the best course of action for rescued animals.

"There's a lot of conversation going on among the stranding community about what is more stressful to the animal," Lull said. "What's in the best interest of the animal? Do you put it in the kennel and start driving, and if it dies you turn around?"

"We're working on trying to find solutions because we know that this service is needed in Maine," Doughty said. "Right now, we're just trying to get through."

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